### Chapter 9: Yihong Courtyard
—
Inside Sky Sword City.
With a rare three-day holiday, Lin Nan didn’t want to waste time sitting around.
A constant sense of crisis loomed over him.
While dying on his main character came with an unknown d*ath penalty, it was still better than his alternate character dying and being completely finished.
Thus, he had to make his main character stronger as quickly as possible, at least to the point where he could protect himself against powerful enemies.
Only then could he feel secure about his alternate character.
As soon as Lin Nan’s consciousness flickered back from the Chaos Forest to Sky Sword City, he decided to head out of town to farm some monsters.
But to his surprise, the wild monsters in the forest outside the city, although numerous, were mostly at low levels.
Even though he had died once during the entry test and dropped a few levels, his sword intent and swordsmanship hadn’t been affected at all.
Those monsters were like paper targets in front of him—no challenge whatsoever.
After half a day of farming, his sword intent hadn’t budged an inch.
As for his character level? Only a tiny increase.
Frustrated, as he returned to the Eight Immortals Restaurant, his buddy Fatty, who had holed up inside all day, immediately came looking for him.
Seeing Lin Nan’s disheveled state, Fatty, well-acquainted with Lin Nan’s usual antics, instantly figured out what he had been doing.
“Bro, what do you think those players are risking their lives for to join the inner circle? It’s for the training resources that normal players can’t touch! Those wild monsters outside the city are only good for novice players. No matter how much you grind for a month, you won’t see any real progress.”
Lin Nan nodded. “You’re right. I was too impatient.”
Fatty chuckled, “Hey, we’ve secured our spot in the inner circle. There’s no rush for training. You’ve been busy all day; let’s unwind tonight!”
“Unwind? Where to?”
Fatty leaned closer and whispered, “Of course, to the brothel!”
Lin Nan froze. “A brothel? In the game?”
Fatty chuckled. “Absolutely. Those screenshots from the forum are wild! If it weren’t for the expensive entrance fee, I’d have gone to check it out ages ago.”
“Holy cr*p, does this game really have an adult section? How did it pass approval?” Lin Nan was shocked.
Fatty rubbed his hands together lewdly. “Well, we have money now, so it’s only natural we should go and see if what those guys say is true!”
As a decent young man, Lin Nan instinctively wanted to refuse.
But then he thought about how he had dodged the gender awareness issue in Cold Wind Cave the night before, and inexplicably, he agreed to Fatty’s request to go.
By the time night fell and Lin Nan followed Fatty down the brilliantly lit streets, he started to regret his decision.
But seeing Fatty’s excited expression, he couldn’t bring himself to back out now.
Alright, let’s accompany him and see what it’s all about.
After all, there was no option for stripping down in the game, and Lin Nan was curious how Fatty was going to complete such a challenging achievement.
Once they entered the brothel district, he was assaulted by the scent of exotic perfumes.
Many scantily clad women lounged against the railings, casting flirtatious glances at the passing men.
A lot of players were gathered there to watch the spectacle, but only a few dared to step inside.
The reason? The entrance fee was simply too high.
Fatty strutted in like a rooster, parting the crowd with an air of arrogance.
“Make way, make way!”
【Ding! Entering Yihong Courtyard requires 1,000 Spirit Coins. Do you wish to enter? Y/N】
Upon seeing this prompt, Fatty’s heart trembled a bit, despite being somewhat prepared.
d*mn, it’s a total rip-off! They want money before I’ve even stepped in the door; if I call over a couple of chicks, I’ll be broke in an instant!
Good thing Lin Nan came along.
He’d heard the guards inside were fierce, and it was better to have backup than to suffer alone.
As they swaggered into the Yihong Courtyard, the onlooking players began to murmur.
“d*mn, another pair of rich boys. Where do they get all their Spirit Coins?”
“I’ve been grinding daily just to gather over a hundred Spirit Coins—can’t even afford to step inside.”
“Don’t you know? Those RMB players exchange real money for Spirit Coins!”
“Ugh, when will we ever get to throw money around like that?”
“I thought this game claimed to be family-friendly all ages; why on earth do they have a brothel? I’m reporting this!”
“Right, right, report it!”
Following an NPC maid through the exquisitely decorated courtyard, Fatty swelled with pride at the commotion outside.
“Pfft, a bunch of jellybeans!”
“How about we start a live broadcast to show off our status?”
【Live broadcasting is disabled in brothel zones. Please understand.】
“d*mn… alright, I get it. If this video gets out, it’ll corrupt the kids, so I guess it’s better to keep this all to ourselves. Haha!”
Lin Nan, “……”
Of course, he didn’t believe the game would actually have an adult section. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be able to flaunt itself so openly.
“Tsk tsk tsk, this 2000 Spirit Coins weren’t wasted. Look at this atmosphere; it’s totally different from the brothels on TV. This is class!”
Fatty continued praising as they walked, perhaps to justify the bloated cost of their Spirit Coins.
Once they entered a fancy private room surrounded by water, an eager madam approached them with a wide smile.
“Gentlemen, which ladies would you like to order?”
Fatty waved grandly, “Bring out your top girls!”
The madam replied, “You might want to check the prices first.”
【Lady Ru Yu, 10,000 Spirit Coins】
【Lady Siyan, 8,000 Spirit Coins】
【Lady Chimeng, 7,000 Spirit Coins】
“Here are our top three girls. Which one do you want?”
Fatty, “……”
“Uh, we’ve been eating too much meat lately; let’s switch to something light. Just tell me what’s under 3,000 Spirit Coins.”
【Lady Handong, 2,000 Spirit Coins】
【Lady Nanshuang, 2,000 Spirit Coins】
【Lady Yinghan, 2,000 Spirit Coins】
“Sir, these three ladies are our lowest prices.”
Fatty glanced at Lin Nan’s expressionless face and finally bit the b*llet, “Let’s go with Handong and Nanshuang.”
d*mn, they hadn’t even done anything yet, and they’d already burned through most of their cash.
Brothels really are a money pit—no, a great place for the game’s official to rake in Spirit Coins, and players willingly fall into the trap.
“Alright, gentlemen, please wait a moment.”
“Wait!” Lin Nan suddenly spoke up, “I’ll take Lady Ru Yu.”
Fatty nearly spewed his tea, choking and coughing for quite a while.
The madam smiled cheerfully, “Sir, we usually require payment upfront. Are you sure…”
Lin Nan smiled faintly. “I don’t have that much money, but I think you’ll agree, and it’ll be free.”
Fatty was utterly dumbfounded.
“Bro, are you… did you wear yourself out today? Hey! Wake up!”
At that moment, the room fell utterly quiet; the madam’s professional smile remained beaming.
Outside, the sound of water flowed gently, and everything seemed perfectly normal.
